Preseem has released its 2026 ISP Network Report, offering one of the industry’s most comprehensive real-world analyses of access network performance across fixed wireless and fibre operators.
Drawing on billions of daily data points from hundreds of ISPs worldwide, the report reveals a sector that is holding its ground under rising subscriber expectations — and, in some areas, quietly outperforming conventional wisdom.
The report shows that average active fixed wireless users now consume around 8 Mbps, up 11.5% year-on-year. Meanwhile, daily subscriber data usage has climbed to 14.5 GB, with both fibre and wireless networks seeing consistent growth as streaming-heavy habits continue to dominate home broadband demand.
Despite rising consumption, latency across networks has remained stable, and even improved for many wireless subscribers — dropping between 4% and 7% year-on-year. The analysis suggests that operators are successfully keeping ahead of congestion, aided by smarter network design, proactive optimisation, and better management of in-home Wi-Fi. In other words: chaos did not reign.
A standout finding is that fibre and fixed wireless subscribers experience remarkably similar performance when matched by speed plan. While fibre continues to deliver lower baseline latency, much of the delay experienced by subscribers comes from in-home wireless environments — putting both technologies on more even footing than many assume.
On usage patterns, the report highlights that speed plans over 100 Mbps often sit largely idle, while subscribers on sub-75 Mbps plans appear constrained by the plan itself rather than their habits. Median usage rises only gradually with higher plan speeds, suggesting consumers do not endlessly expand their bandwidth appetite simply because more is available. (At least until the next major game console update.)
On the infrastructure side, the report captures meaningful shifts in the fixed wireless vendor landscape. Cambium and Tarana continue to gain ground, while Ubiquiti remains the largest but sees a modest decline in share among Preseem-monitored networks. More than 75% of fixed wireless access points still serve 10 or fewer subscribers, reinforcing the highly distributed nature of regional wireless deployments.
“With operators juggling multi-vendor, multi-access networks, real-world insight has become essential,” said Dan Siemon, CEO at Preseem. “This report offers ISPs a clear view of where they stand — and where the opportunities lie.”
